Lifting strip bag



July 8, 1941.- H. D. A'rwoon LIFTING STRIP BAG Filed Oct. .23, 1939 NVEJN TO L, Q/arr 1 TTO may;

Patented July 8, 1941 7 2,248,843 1 LIFTIIING s'rmr BAG.

Harry D.- Atwood, Highland Park, Mich., assignor to Klean Holder Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application October 23, 1939, Serial No. 300,763

' "-2 Claims. (Cl. 206 -56) The invention relates to a novel bag especially adapted for use as a container for'sandwiches and other edibles. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel bag of this type in'which a so-called lifting strip is provided for pulling the sandwich progressively from the bag as it is being eaten. r V

The general object of the present invention is to provide a bag of the class described which has one or more of the following attributes: (a) case of access to, and manipulation of, the lifting strip during both insertion and removal 'of a sandwich or the like; (17) utilization of the strip itself to force open the bag mouth for the insertion of a sandwich; and (c) minimization of danger of tearing the bag when extracting a sandwich from it by means of the lifting strip.

Another object is to provide a bag ofthe type described constructed in a novel manner so as to facilitate use of the lifting strip as an advertising medium.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 and 2 are general perspective views of respectively the front and rear of a lifting strip bag embodying the invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the bag of Fig. 1 with a sandwich in it.

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the bag of Fig. 1 illustrating the use of the lifting strip to force open the bag mouth.

Fig. 5 is a general perspective View of the bag of Fig. 1 illustrating the mode of inserting a sandwich in it.

While the lifting strip bag constituting the present invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, I have shown in the drawing and will herein describe in detail the preferred embodiment. It is to be understood that I do not thereby intend to limit the invention by such disclosure but aim to cover all modifications and alternative constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the present embodiment, the container shown (Fig. 1) is particularly adapted to receive edible articles such as a sandwich I ll (Fig. 3). This container includes as its principal elements a bag, designated generally by the numeral ll, provided with an interiorly located lifting strip l2 for use in extracting the sandwich from the bag.

The bag II has been shown as being of the well known fiat type. It is fashioned of sheet material such as wax paper being preferably transparent or at least translucent for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. The body of the bag is fashioned in the form of a flattened tube and has a longitudinal seam l3 in its backside (Fig. 2) formed. by adhesively securing together the overlapped edges of the bag material. The bottom of the bag is closed by doubling the end portion upon itself and securingit in position by suitable adhesive. The top or mouth of the bag l4 (Figs. 1 and 4) is open and maybe closed by a flap I6 which is formed as an integral extension on' the seamed bag wall of thel'bag body. There is a particular reason, which will appear below in connection with the arrangement ofthe lifting strip I2, for forming the flap Hi on the seamed wall of the bag rather than on its seamless front wall.

In accordance with the present invention, a particular form and arrangement of the lifting strip are utilized to accomplish a number of important advantages incident to the use of the bag. In general, the lifting strip is fashioned from a ribbon of sheet material, such as paper, doubled upon itself to form two legs l2 and [2 of unequal length. The strip is located within the bag and extends longitudinally of it with its folded end at the bottom of the bag and the end portions of the strip legs extending toward the bag mouth l5.

Particularly to be noted is the fact that the shorter strip leg l2 is adhesively secured to the adjacent inner surface of the bag wall as indicated at I! (Figs. 1, 3, and 4) while the free end of the longer leg [2 projects from the bag mouth [5 beyond the end of the shorter wall and lies against the inner surface of the flap It being substantially coextensive with the latter. With such an arrangement, the free end of the strip leg [2 is readily accessible for gripping engagement by the user to pull this strip end out and thus gradually slide the sandwich H] from the bag as the sandwich is being eaten. By locating the strip end, which is to be pulled, in the inner surface of the flap [6, it lies beneath the users thumb in the natural position of the latter as the flap is grasped preparatory to and during the insertion of an article (see Fig. 5). Any possibility of the free end of the strip being forced into the bag is thus avoided.

The location and arrangement of the lifting strip l2 as described above also assists in more or less automatically opening the bag mouth [5 for insertion of the sandwich. For this purpose,

the user grips the flap and overlying strip leg [2 between his thumb and forefinger (Fig. 5) and then slides his thumb along to pull the strip leg I2 upward into the position of Fig. 4. During such movement of the strip leg I2 the shorter strip leg I2 is buckled as indicated at H! (Fig. 4) so that the outer wall of the bag is thrust outward and the bag mouth opened. With the bag mouth thus opened, the sandwich Hi can readily be pushed into proper position in the bag (Fig. 5). During this insertion of the sandwich, the user,

of course, holds the strip leg 12 and flap l5 gripped between his thumb and forefinger so that in a very natural manner the opposed'ends of the lifting strip 12 are held ap art to receive thesandwich between them. The importance of ,thus facilitating the insertion of a sandwich into the bag will be appreciated more fully when it is borne in mind that literally thousands of these bags must be filled with sandwiches when the,

bags are used by concessionaires, restaurateurs, and the like. Consequently, by simplifying the manipulations required and constructingthe bag in such a manner that its proper manipulation ispractically inherent in its use, a very large and important saving in labor costs incident to large scale packaging of sandwiches is achieved.

By virtue of the constructiondescribed, the dangerof tearing the bag asfthe sandwich is being extractedfrom it is, minimized. In this connection, itshould be noted that the shorter lifting strip leg l2 ispreferably secured to the unseamedqside wall of thebag body. Consequently,;when.the user pulls on the free end of thestrip leg 12 to withdrawa sandwich from the bag and thustensions the strip [2, the resultant tearing stress at" I! is appliedtoan unseamed bag wallwhichisof maximum strength as compared to the seamed wall. There is, thus less likelihood of tearing the: bag.

Aswas previouslynoted, ,the bag H is preferably made of transparent or at least translucent material. This material is preferred in order that suitable advertising indicia may be printed on the lifting strip I2 so that it will show through the bag. It will be appreciated that if the strip 12 is made of opaque colored paper, it Will present a very striking appearance so that a purchasers eye is quickly attracted to the advertising material printed on what appears to be a brightly colored stripealong the bag.

I claim as my invention:

1. As an article of manufacture, a bag made of sheet material and having a tubular body with a closed bottom and an open mouth, a portion of the bag body being extended at said mouth beyond the edge of the opposite portion toqformajflap at the bag mouth, a lifting strip formed of. sheet material doubled upon itself and extending down into the interior of the bag with its folded end in the lower portion of the bag,'one end portion of said strip being adhesively secured to the inner surface of the bag bodyjopposite saidflap, and the other end of said 'strip' being extended beyond said one end portion of: the strip substantially coextensive with said flap. V V I 2. Asfanarticle of 'manufacture, a bag made of'sheet material and having a tubular and longitudinally seamed body with a closed bottom and an open mouth, the seamed portion of'the bag body being extended at said mouth beyond the edge of the opposite portion to form a flap 

